Overview of Education System
The education system is centralized under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, which determines national curricula content, and implements national and international educational testing policies. The kindergarten through Grade 12 education system consists of schools grouped into preprimary education (ages 3 to 6), primary education (kindergarten to Grade 6 for students ages 6 to 12), and secondary education including lower secondary (Grades 7 to 9 for students ages 12 to 15) and upper secondary (Grades 10 to 12 for students ages 15 to 18).1 Most primary schools educate students for six years, although about 25 percent include eight years of schooling. Education is compulsory for students ages 3 to 18, but this requirement is being implemented only for ages 5 to 16. Almost all schools are public.
Schools in the Jewish and Arab sectors are divided first by language (Hebrew or Arabic) and then into different supervision frameworks representing the cultural and religious subsectors in Israel. The Jewish sector includes secular, religious, and ultra‑Orthodox supervision, with separate supervisory bodies for the Arab, Bedouin, and Druze populations. Each supervision framework comprises different content and a unique proportion of religious and cultural studies. Hebrew language supervision is centralized. With its own curriculum including a particularly large proportion of religious studies, the ultra‑Orthodox supervision in the Jewish sector is the most autonomous. These schools usually are not open to external intervention and evaluation.
In 2009, a national educational and professional reform of primary schools and some lower secondary schools called New Horizon (Ofek Hadash) was initiated. The original reform aims were revisited and revised in 2016.2 The four main interrelated and complementary goals of the reform were to:
- Strengthen the status of teachers and raise their salaries
- Provide equal opportunities for all students, raise student achievement levels, and narrow education gaps
- Improve school climate
- Empower principals by extending their authority in schools
The reform follows the trend of increasing school accountability for improving the quality of instruction and the level of student achievement by, among other things, increasing principals’ responsibility for teacher evaluation and improved performance. For the first time in Israel, the New Horizon framework established a scale of professional promotion for teachers and principals that reflects the complexity of their work. The reform also introduced a common language for Ministry personnel and inspectors, principals, teachers, and other academics to be used when considering teacher performance in their various roles within the school system. The goal of providing equal opportunities for all students is reflected in the reform by requiring teachers to dedicate time from their daily schedules to help students with learning difficulties and encourage exceptional students.